I just love the beautiful fine & delicate feathers of the birds… but I’m still new at this and am busy developing my style and for the moment I’m just happy to get a bird that sits still long enough for me to get a sharp shot. I started going there in January this year and my wife Cheryl and I are now regular visitors. But what really kickstarted my hobby was the close proximity of the Rietvlei Nature Reserve to my house. To get familiar with the lens, my longest ever by a mile or at least 300mm, I practised on the birds in my garden, and to my consternation discovered that getting a good sharp image of a bird is not so easy–they never sit still and just fly off on a whim! It became quite a challenge and I practised daily on any and all birds that dared to come within reach of my lens. Last year, Canon released the RF 600mm f11 lens at a very good price and as I already had a mirrorless camera I thought it would be a nice-to-have lens for my occasional trips to the Kruger National Park. As all bird photographers know, a long telephoto lens is essential for any meaningful bird photography endeavours. So I was looking for something photographic to do. COVID and the Lockdown regulations were very frustrating for me as my personal photography involved travelling through the Karoo and rural areas of Southern Africa and documenting the people and structures of the small towns that I encounter on my journeys.
Road trip adventure iso professional#
The atmosphere and experience were overwhelming and I was hooked! I enrolled for a three-year Diploma in Photography the following year and have been a professional portrait and commercial & advertising photographer ever since.Īlthough I am not new to photography, I am very new to bird photography. I won a small prize and part of the competition were workshops and demos at the Pretoria Technikon photo school. In that year I entered the FotoVarcity competition.
I realised on my first day as an article clerk that I was never going to make it as an accountant. How did you discover and nurture your passion for photography? He met his wife, Cheryl, at Tuks where he studied Accountancy and has been happily married for 38 years with three grown-up children. Ivan Muller grew up on the goldmines of the Freestate and Barberton in Mpumalanga, but he has been a self-described “Pretoria boyjtie” since high school. Prize: Canon PowerShot SX70 HS Camera, valued at R10 395 | Worcester, Smalblaar River WINNER: AMATEUR CATEGORY Louis Groenewald | Canon EOS 7D | 1/6400 f7.1 ev-0. After about 1500 photos and 30 hours of lying on the rocks, I managed to get six photos I was happy with.
I spent three to four hours every Saturday and Sunday for about 4 weekends photographing them. I set up the next day lying at water level on had river rocks. I also noticed that they took about 40 min to return to this spot and only caught three to four tadpoles at each spot before moving to the next perch.
I chose the best perch for a good background and good morning light. I noticed they had four perches they’d go to, to catch tadpoles. They were feeding their chicks, so I spend a day observing them. I happened to come across a breeding pair of Malachite Kingfishers along a stream. I’d scout first and observe the birds first to learn their routines and movements, like in the case of the Kingfisher photo. I don’t usually go walk around with my camera to take photos. Tell us the story behind how you captured your winning image! What drives me is that I know there’s a better photo out there to be taken. People often ask why I take so many photos of a specific bird. I think bird photography is quite challenging, and to be able to capture split-second movements, especially birds in flight, and then being able to see things one would never see with the naked eye is very rewarding.
What aspect of photographing birds inspires and motivates you the most? It made it easier I could shoot and delete. After having hundreds of films developed, it all faded for a few years, until I bought my first DSLR. I promptly went out and bought a Tamron 500 mirror lens for it. I’d always wanted to photograph birds but only started at the age of 21 when I received a Ricoh camera for my 21st birthday.
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